Lenny Kravitz, Strut (Roxie)

Graham Reid | Oct 20, 2014 | <1 min read

Lenny Kravitz: Happy Birthday

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With two new Prince albums, the reissue
of two Hendrix albums (Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge) and the
next installment of Hunger Games pending (in which continues
his role as Cinna), it seems timely to mention Lenny Kravitz, a man
whose musical career often seems incidental to his image.

You would
rarely accuse him of originality and his reference points remain
somewhere between Hendrix, Prince, Eighties stadium rock-pop and lyrics
which have a lot of “get it on” and sexual suggestion.

Although
on Dirty White Boots lines like “take your knickers down and
give me that treasure” come up a little light on innuendo.

Kravitz has long been a purveyor of the
obvious, whether it be in his musical influences (here extending to
Heart of Glass-cum-funk on the disco groove of The Chamber
and New York City,
and a cover of Smokey Robinson's soul ballad Ooo Baby Baby) or
his cover art (abs and tats, leather pants).

That said, you have to
admire the whole tongue-in-chic of it all, and the soul/hard rock
wheel doesn't actually need reinventing.

Pull your dancing shoes on,
wave the cellphone for the ballad She's a Beast and singalong
to canyon-wide choruses.

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